I hope by the time training camp is over Leary is challenging to start.

If he's not, he's a loser.

Supposedly the team had a 3rd round grade on him and were confident enough to give him the largest contract of any UDFA.

We've heard his knees are fine so far. If a guy is healthy, a 3rd round talent, has a year of NFL strength & conditioning/ diet under his belt and is competing against 2 full on scrubs he should be able to compete.

Supposedly the team had a 3rd round grade on him and were confident enough to give him the largest contract of any UDFA.

We've heard his knees are fine so far. If a guy is healthy, a 3rd round talent, has a year of NFL strength & conditioning/ diet under his belt and is competing against 2 full on scrubs he should be able to compete.

If not, he's trash. Arkin, Brewer, whoever part 2.

Exactly. Don't tell me how high you are on the guy if he isn't ready come the season start. Cut bait.

Early in the day SF asked if I would move down from 2.47 for 2.61, 4.128 and a 6th. I told them I would do it if they agreed to pull the trigger now, but that I wouldn't do it later. I knew they would just string me along and either try to get a higher pick or change their minds at the last moment. I didn't want that. They didn't want to do it then, so the deal died.

Draft started and ARZ was offering their 3rd and 4th to anyone who would move out of the 2nd. I told them I would do it now. They wanted to wait, and in the meantime they kept pimping their offer to the first team who would bite with a pick ahead of mine. I didn't mind because another team just inquired of my pick.

After some deliberate negotiation talks, HOU offered me their 2nd, 4th and 6th to move down 10 spots. THIS was the deal I wanted. But they wanted to wait till I was on the clock. With 3 picks till mine, I told them that I needed to know now. They agreed and the deal was consumated.

So watching what was available at pick 47, I knew I still had some options out there for me. One player who I thought would've been gone by now and who I think will be gone by this point in real life (possibly Round 1) was Menelik Watson. I have him predicted to go early in Round 2, myself. I was prepared to take someone else at 57, but with Watson still there, I couldn't help myself, so I ended up drafting him. There are mixed feelings about it to be honest. We'll see how the rest of the draft goes. I'm mostly bummed because I wanted to draft Dallas Thomas as our RT in Round 3. Won't be doing that now, but yeah, I am a big Thomas fan. I think he has a chance to be the next Duane Brown and fits the ZBS to a T. Watson's value was too tough to pass on, so I'll restrategize. Our OL is beastly though. Can't complain about the future of that group if it turned out like this in real life.

Great draft IMO, I really like Menelik Watson although he may have to sit a year before he's totally ready to start, he's very raw with a huge upside. I was going to take him in round 3 for Detroit because I think he can play OG as well.
I think you need to look for a DT for Kiffin's system and I might have taken one in round 2 if I were you but you cannot have everything.
I was forced to take Lane Johnson for Detroit after Fisher and Joeckel went 1/2, I took Sam Montgomery DE in round 2 because Detroit is desperate there.

I really went into the round open minded today. Not as anxious as I was during the first 2 days. I did not seek out trades prior to the draft and I was not approached for any either.

I kind of knew what I wanted to do. My target was Jonathan Franklin and I thought I had a good chance to land him where I was.

But there were a couple of guys that I thought I should try to trade up for. So when the draft started, I tried to see what teams would bite for. First I approached JAX. They started off the draft with the first 2 picks. I offered Miles Austin and my 4th Rounder from HOU for their 3rd rounder. There was some slight interest, but no dice.

Next I approached DET. But by the time I spoke to them, they already turned their card in. When they announced the pick... "The Detroit Lions select Barrett Jones, OG Alabama"... BAAAH! I was bummed! That was one of my 2 targets for trading up. A lot of guys in the chatroom called it a reach, but IMO, I'd gladly draft Jones in Round 3 and laugh all the way to the bank.

Next I approach OAK, but they wanted to keep their pick since there was a player they really wanted. They ended up taking Jordan Poyer.

Couldn't strike a deal with anyone ... then when BUF was on the clock, they selected "Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor". BOOooooo.... that was the one other guy that I thought I should try to trade up for. I personally am not his biggest fan, but I think the Cowboys could be. Dooley spent a lot of personal time with T-Will at Baylor's Pro Day and he's also schedule for Dallas Day. Plus, I know T-Will wants to be on the Cowboys VERRRRRY BADLY. It's his favorite team and listening to him talk about how much he loves the team gives me a soft spot for him.

I was trying to offer up Austin and a 4th to move up into the 3rd for Williams. No luck. No worry, my RB was still there and I had confidence that he would be.

Then leading up to my pick the chat host asked the group who's better... Giovanni Bernard or Jonathan Franklin? I thought, "Oh damn..." Putting my guys name on the radar! No Name Dropping! ha ha. But then it got me thinking.... is Gio still available??? I thought he was taken already... Looked it up and sure enough he was still there! So now I was feeling much better about my odds of landing a good RB.

I thought the Jets would take a RB... nope. Felt ok about TAM, CLE, SD and NOR not taking one. I thought MIA was a maybe since they lost Bush. STL was a scary one since they got rid of SJax. But nope.

So there I was with my pick of Giovanni Bernard or Jonathan Franklin...!!! Who to take??? I had my heart set on taking Franklin! I LOVE the guy! He played in a ZBS at UCLA and is a great cut back RB. Maybe the best in the draft! I didn't know how to pass on Gio though! He's supposed to be gone by now... right? Most have him rated as a 2nd round RB.

So anyways, since I haven't done my own study on RB rankings yet, I went with the consensus BPA value pick and took Giovanni Bernard with the 3rd Round pick of the Dallas Cowboys.

I'd have taken Gio over Franklin too. He's got more of a compact frame and I would feel more comfortable with him having a 15-20 carry workload if Murray missed time. Heck, he's good enough to challenge Murray for the job outright. Would LOVE our backfield situation after that pick.

Also on landing Cooper AND Watson, more notably Watson because it takes some cojones to make that trade. That would be an awesome OL core to work with moving forward.

I'd try to keep an eye on safety now and grab one when the value matches up, but its a great start.

Citing "whispers around the league," ESPN's Adam Schefter hinted on his blog that Alabama OG Chance Warmack could be in for a draft-day mini-slide.
Schefter believes it "wouldn't be completely shocking" if Warmack were available at the Cowboys' No. 18 overall selection. Warmack is a lock first-rounder, but keep in mind many pegged David DeCastro as a top 10-15 pick last April and he lasted to the Steelers' pick at 24. Guard is not a coveted NFL position. Related: CowboysSource: ESPN Insider

So you're saying there's a chance!? I think people in mocks are gonna overreact to the Guards this year, but as this article quoted about Decastro if you mocked him to Pitt last year people would have laughed, no way he can last that long etc etc.

I think we have a good chance to sign one of these RT's and take an elite Guard this year.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

Wow, you are nailing this thing. You moved down for great value, and I love Watson. Out of curiousity, was Armstead available there? I have him and Watson as very similiar prospects. Also, Gio is my #2 RB behind Christine so I love me some Gio there. He's better then Franklin IMO and his fit on our team is beautiful.

I wonder if we plan on going with a RBBC with our drafted back, or just to spell Demarco. My guess is just for a breather. Even when we got Murray, we gave Felix a chance to be 'the guy' and Murray barely played until Felix went down.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

I still think you've given Kiffin very little to work with considering he is bringing in a whole new defense and needs pieces here and there. I don't think Dallas' offense was a totally serious problem, they have always been able to score points. I would have waited till round 4 to adress a backup for Murray and given Kiffin a piece to his puzzle but I absolutely loved your top 2 picks.

I still think you've given Kiffin very little to work with considering he is bringing in a whole new defense and needs pieces here and there. I don't think Dallas' offense was a totally serious problem, they have always been able to score points. I would have waited till round 4 to adress a backup for Murray and given Kiffin a piece to his puzzle but I absolutely loved your top 2 picks.

Kiffen doesn't need that much. Our entire starting front 7 is locked in along with our top 3 CB's. How much more does he need? All we are lacking is Safeties and depth up front on D. Our line and back-up RB is the priority with Safety, wouldn't bother me anyway we decided to take care of it.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

I still think you've given Kiffin very little to work with considering he is bringing in a whole new defense and needs pieces here and there. I don't think Dallas' offense was a totally serious problem, they have always been able to score points. I would have waited till round 4 to adress a backup for Murray and given Kiffin a piece to his puzzle but I absolutely loved your top 2 picks.

Hard to say Kiffin has little to work with when one of the reasons people say (which I don't agree with) is that Rob Ryan didn't get the most out of his players. I fricken loved Rob. ...and I'm really holding back my criticism for Monte. I'm willing to give him a chance, but I want to see him do what Rob couldn't do. I think you make a good observation because it would seem to look that way... but I actually think Monte he has A LOT of toys to play with.

First of all we Franchised Spencer. That HAD to have had Monte's wish. I'd say that's giving him support. We could've saved the money and gone for other FAs... probably could've landed 2 good OL and had room to spare. If that had been the case then I would've gone DE for Monte. But he chose Spencer.

Secondly, I don't think we need to address DT with a Top 3 pick unless there was a clear BPA available. There wasn't one when I was on the clock. The Saints just took Montori Hughes with the pick before me. IMO, he wasn't BPA yet the Saints took a guy because of need. He's more of a 4th round guy, imo. The next best DT didn't equal the return value of Bernard imo.

We've also heard rumors of Crawford possibly being used inside in some packages as well. He's still developing and we don't know his limitations yet. But I can see him and Ratliff both being used inside giving us an attacking 4 front. We have some bodies on the roster already and a lot of other picks in the draft still left to address depth. I didn't see someone with the ability to start over Ratliff and Hatcher, so I went with RB. When Murray went down, our offense struggled and we lost some unfortunate games. RB depth is critical and we haven't looked at any RB in FA. I think it's gonna be a high priority.

I have 2 picks today that I am looking forward to using. :)

Also, Jason Garrett's ass is on the line this year. I think he'll be making sure that offense kicks some serious ass. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if he used most of our picks on his side of the ball. You're right about the offense looking good if you just looked at stats, but the offense can still go to another level... a SB contending level. That's where I'm hoping we get to.

Wow, you are nailing this thing. You moved down for great value, and I love Watson. Out of curiousity, was Armstead available there? I have him and Watson as very similiar prospects. Also, Gio is my #2 RB behind Christine so I love me some Gio there. He's better then Franklin IMO and his fit on our team is beautiful.

I wonder if we plan on going with a RBBC with our drafted back, or just to spell Demarco. My guess is just for a breather. Even when we got Murray, we gave Felix a chance to be 'the guy' and Murray barely played until Felix went down.

Thanks man. Armstead actually went to ARZ with the 6th pick in the second round. Interesting that you have Christine as your #1 RB. He's still available going into the 4th round. I think he goes this round though. Like I said, I haven't done my RB rankings yet, but I did like what I saw of him.

Hard to say Kiffin has little to work with when one of the reasons people say (which I don't agree with) is that Rob Ryan didn't get the most out of his players. I fricken loved Rob. ...and I'm really holding back my criticism for Monte. I'm willing to give him a chance, but I want to see him do what Rob couldn't do. I think you make a good observation because it would seem to look that way... but I actually think Monte he has A LOT of toys to play with.

First of all we Franchised Spencer. That HAD to have had Monte's wish. I'd say that's giving him support. We could've saved the money and gone for other FAs... probably could've landed 2 good OL and had room to spare. If that had been the case then I would've gone DE for Monte. But he chose Spencer.

Secondly, I don't think we need to address DT with a Top 3 pick unless there was a clear BPA available. There wasn't one when I was on the clock. The Saints just took Montori Hughes with the pick before me. IMO, he wasn't BPA yet the Saints took a guy because of need. He's more of a 4th round guy, imo. The next best DT didn't equal the return value of Bernard imo.

We've also heard rumors of Crawford possibly being used inside in some packages as well. He's still developing and we don't know his limitations yet. But I can see him and Ratliff both being used inside giving us an attacking 4 front. We have some bodies on the roster already and a lot of other picks in the draft still left to address depth. I didn't see someone with the ability to start over Ratliff and Hatcher, so I went with RB. When Murray went down, our offense struggled and we lost some unfortunate games. RB depth is critical and we haven't looked at any RB in FA. I think it's gonna be a high priority.

I have 2 picks today that I am looking forward to using. :)

Also, Jason Garrett's ass is on the line this year. I think he'll be making sure that offense kicks some serious ass. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if he used most of our picks on his side of the ball. You're right about the offense looking good if you just looked at stats, but the offense can still go to another level... a SB contending level. That's where I'm hoping we get to.

I agree with most of this, Monte has a very good set of corners to work with between Carr, Claiborne and Scandrick especially if he incooperates a mix of coverages. Our LB corps has a chance to be special in this scheme if they stay healthy and they all have the athleticism to pursuit from sideline to sideline. The D-line should thrive under Marinelli,the scheme is set up for pass rush every down and play the run on the way to the QB.

I really hope we find a way to secure a plus FS in the first two rounds, there has been a revolving door at the position for years. I disagree about DT, Hatcher is in the last year of his contract and Ratliff hasn't proved he can stay on the field for a full season. Thankfully DT is another postion that holds value within the top 100 in this years draft. We might be able to get away with adding a depth stuffer and use a priority pick next season.

On offense I think you are right about getting toy for Garrett and Romo to play with. The best way to justify Romo's extension is by giving him the best opportunity to succeed. That is why I can really see us going with either Tavon Austin or Cordarrell Patterson if a lineman or safety doesnt fall in the first round. If that is the case expect us to try to target guys like Kyle Long, Pugh, Armstead, and Watson in the second round.

I agree with most of this, Monte has a very good set of corners to work with between Carr, Claiborne and Scandrick especially if he incooperates a mix of coverages. Our LB corps has a chance to be special in this scheme if they stay healthy and they all have the athleticism to pursuit from sideline to sideline. The D-line should thrive under Marinelli,the scheme is set up for pass rush every down and play the run on the way to the QB.

I really hope we find a way to secure a plus FS in the first two rounds, there has been a revolving door at the position for years. I disagree about DT, Hatcher is in the last year of his contract and Ratliff hasn't proved he can stay on the field for a full season. Thankfully DT is another postion that holds value within the top 100 in this years draft. We might be able to get away with adding a depth stuffer and use a priority pick next season.

On offense I think you are right about getting toy for Garrett and Romo to play with. The best way to justify Romo's extension is by giving him the best opportunity to succeed. That is why I can really see us going with either Tavon Austin or Cordarrell Patterson if a lineman or safety doesnt fall in the first round. If that is the case expect us to try to target guys like Kyle Long, Pugh, Armstead, and Watson in the second round.

Kiffen doesn't need that much. Our entire starting front 7 is locked in along with our top 3 CB's. How much more does he need? All we are lacking is Safeties and depth up front on D. Our line and back-up RB is the priority with Safety, wouldn't bother me anyway we decided to take care of it.

Whenever a team switches schemes, some starters will simply not fit in. It may look good on paper but reality is a whole different story.
The Cover 2 also places a lot of emphasis on Safeties over CB's, you can have average CB's but you had better have superior Safeties.

Round 4 of the LIVE Forum Mock finished yesterday. I went into the Round with 2 picks so I was very anxious for the draft. Saturday was a totally busy day for me, but I still managed to find time for the draft!

I had several players I was eyeing for the day, but I needed to remain patient even as those names starting coming off the board... and it started early...

JAX had the first pick and they selected Shamarko Thomas. Mmk. *crosses name off list* With the 4th pick, PHI took CB Leon McFadden. I know CB isn't one of our biggest needs, but I'm high on McFadden and he would've been a name to consider if he was available at our pick. Vance McDonald, Marcus Lattimore and Tyler Wilson went off the board, but the guy I was crossing my fingers for was still available!

So with my first 4th rounder I selected C Brian Schwenke, Cal. I don't see him being available here in real life. Schwenke is the real deal. Watch him play and while he's got a strong anchor at the point of attack in pass pro, but he REALLY stands out in run blocking, especially at the second level. Excellent balance, movement in space, runs down his targets as good as you could ask for. With our C position in flux, I felt like choosing Schwenke gave us a future starter in the 4th round. We have too many bodies there with no faith in any of them... Costa... Cook... Bernadeau... Kowalski... ugh.

That's the best I can do for ya Tony! A unit of weakness now has the potential for greatness!

The only other option I was looking at there was DT Bennie Logan, but it really wasn't a hard choice.

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I know I've focused heavily on offense, but that's just the way the chips fell. With another pick in this round, I would definitely turn to that side of the ball. Defense is pretty deep in this draft, but there was one guy I was hoping would fall to me.

When it came my chance to pick my luck lasted to me once again! With the 27th pick of the 4th round that I received from HOU for trading down in Round 2, I selected DE Cornelius Washington, Georgia! We've talked about him here frequently off and on. He totally blew up the combine with his jaw dropping performance. At 6'4, 265, Washington ran a blazing 4.53 40 time and threw up the bench 36 times! I've been a fan and I think I might've made BBD a little mad, but I just love this guy's upside. He's gonna need some development time, but I think this is a guy who could realistically become a future starting DE. People will complain about his lack of production, but part of that is because of Georgia's scheme change from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Georgia never quite found a place for him, constantly changing him from a defensive end to an outside linebacker and vice versa after their conversion to the 3-4, and as a result Cornelius never got a chance to be comfortable at one position. He was constantly forced to fluctuate his weight to accommodate the position changes.

Some draftniks talk about him as an OLB, but I think he projects better to DE. His frame is in the same mold as Bjoern Werner, Alex Okafor, and Sam Montgomery.

The LIVE Forum Mock only goes 5 rounds so today is the last day. We'll see how this turns out.